Let's break up with TSA
I hate airports. I hate them…Every time I went into an airport after 9/11 I thought, ‘They’re training everyone to accept the doctrines of a totalitarian state.’ You have to line up like sheep, to do stupid things that mean nothing, that give the illusion of security, implemented by faceless authoritarians, and then acted out by powerless minions.
Jordan B. Peterson, January 9, 2025, 32:30
A recent trip to the eastern U.S. involved my being in seven different airports. Not being a frequent flyer over the years, the increase in airport “security” is shocking. My trip began at a lovely, clean airport with shops and holiday décor throughout, but I could never shake that “Big Brother is watching you” feeling, precipitated by the following:
1) There were agents with bomb-sniffing dogs walking the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) check-in line.
2) Despite having my Department of Homeland Security mandated “REAL ID,” and my boarding pass, they automatically scanned my face.
3) I took off my belt, my shoes, and my zippered jacket, and also removed everything from my pockets and put it all in a big bin. Another bin held my backpack and suitcase, with my laptop removed.
4) I had to wait my turn to go through a body scanner where my legs were spread and my hands were behind my head, like a criminal.
5) Upon exit, the TSA agent informed me that there had been an alert in the groin area. Right there, in front of everyone, she did a hands-on invasive front and back swipe and dig that would have been grounds for assault charges in any other setting.
6) My suitcase and backpack were flagged, opened, and pawed through. (I guess the M&Ms looked suspicious.)
7) Feeling furious and violated in many ways, I then joined the ruffled throngs putting on their shoes and other clothing items, and reassembling their luggage on their way to spacious food courts and accommodations.
8) Despite this screening of all passengers, a message frequently played over the intercom warning me not to leave my bags unattended, and not to accept any bags or packages from strangers.
And that was just one airport. At another, I forgot to empty my water bottle before going through security. My options were to throw it in the big garbage for such dangerous items, or go back out to empty it and have to go through the whole “security” check again. I tossed it, thinking about all the full-size hygiene items, food, sentimental pocket knives and embroidery scissors, and myriads of other items people have had to throw away because of TSA regulations.
The indignities we’ve been forced to endure at airports, ever since the horrific actions of a few psychotic, radicalized nut jobs on 9/11, prepared us for the illogic of the Covid response. In fact Covid put airport security on steroids with the added masking, sanitizing, and “social distancing” requirements.
When I walk through my local grocery store, I remember the arrows telling me which way to go in the aisle, the little circles instructing me to stand 6-feet apart, and the signs mandating I wear a mask to enter. I remember the time I left my cart full of groceries and exited because of an employee, mask worn below his nose, tracking me through the store and getting in my face to tell me I was putting others at risk for not having a mask on mine.
I can’t forget Covid and the myriad violations of personal privacy and freedoms that assaulted me every time I left my house, and sometimes even in my house in the form of government-stated rules on who could visit, how many, and requirements to wear masks and distance. Not for one minute did I even consider obeying the overreaching Governor and his minions in my own home, but my rebellion didn’t convince all my family and friends, and relationships were strained.
The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”
We were violated repeatedly during Covid. We are subjected to unreasonable search and seizure every time we deal with TSA. Tulsi Gabbard’s recent experience with Silent Skies is just a visible tip of the iceberg. Gabbard is a former Representative to Congress, saw active duty serving in the National Guard, and was a former Presidential candidate when she was put on the Silent Skies terrorist watch list due to her political views.
TSA reports proudly that it intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2024. A simple metal detector and luggage scan used to do that job just fine. For that matter, the terrorists on 9/11 didn’t even attempt to bring guns on the planes but that didn’t stop their heinous attack. Our shoes have been coming off ever since one mentally challenged guy put an ineffective mini-bomb in his shoe in December 2001.
As we’ve all complied like good little sheep in airports, not wanting to cause a scene or miss our flights, the authoritarian state has spread. We have cameras filming us in every store, and atop traffic lights and street lamps. There are increasingly invasive security measures being taken at sports arenas and large venues. The push for digital IDs continues apace. The generations born since 9/11 don’t even remember a U.S. that wasn’t a quasi-security state. But are we safer? No. Just less free.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” That’s where we’re at today in our safetyism culture. The indignities of airport security are infuriating as “just doing my job” agents grope grandmas, pat down elderly veterans, and discomfit people in wheelchairs – harassing passengers who paid hundreds of dollars for a ticket, and obviously are not doing anything but trying to get from one place to the other. The hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in personal items seized, and then turned over to state surplus property agencies, is a crime.
Obviously I’m not the only one who feels this way. Utah Senator Mike Lee posted on X, in response to the news that Pres. Trump fired the head of the TSA one day into his second term, “He should fire the rest of TSA now.” The replies to his post indicate a deep and abiding loathing for the invasive, ineffective, authoritarian TSA. (Click the link below the image.)
https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1882253750980518275
Pres. Trump eliminated the divisive, racist Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that have infested federal government with one brilliantly written executive order on January 21, 2025. He can easily disband the TSA with another.
It’s time to break up with the TSA.
And as with so many things, I wish it were that simple. Getting rid of TSA is not likely to happen. At best it will simply be renamed and repackaged and remain an entity to catch the few nutjobs, who we call "bad actors". And our Gov't should be watching out for them in our midst, constantly.
Their methods, as you so clearly exemplify, have gone "beyond the pale" invasive. I no longer fly for that reason, and, they are incompetent in their "thoroughness". I last flew in late 2016. I tried checking firearms. That added another layer of procedure. And it didn't work. On my return flight, the stupid airport left my bags behind, because they were in a specially designated area with the added tags on them because there were guns in them. I spent literally the entire night and next day angsting, waiting, phoning, and finally going down to the airport to finally be reunited with my bags and my guns. "Never again!" And I have kept that promise. I will never fly again.
I was one of those who saw the TSA as an experiment in totalitarianism very early. And it has only gotten worse. There has to be a balance in security measures and respect for personal space and property, etc. Maybe in the next hopefully 12 continuous years of conservative leadership, we can regain our freedom
I fear TSA is a different beast than DEI, but I certainly would love to see it abolished!